JP2008145079A - Air conditioner indoor unit - Google Patents

Abstract

An indoor unit of an air conditioner capable of smoothly moving a filter is provided.
An indoor unit (2) includes an indoor heat exchanger (12), a fan (13), a filter (21), a roller (31), and a guide member (41). The indoor heat exchanger 12 exchanges heat with the incoming air flow. The fan 13 generates an air flow. The filter 21 removes dust contained in the air flow. The roller 31 moves the filter 21. The guide member 41 is provided with a guide groove 42 for supporting the moving filter 21 and guiding it in a predetermined direction. The guide member 41 is a resin part that is injection-molded with a mold, and the side of the guide member 41 that has the guide groove 42 is the mold cavity side, and the side that does not have the guide groove 42 is the core side of the mold. It is molded as
[Selection] Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to an indoor unit of an air conditioner, and more particularly to an indoor unit of an air conditioner having a function of automatically removing dust attached to a filter.

In recent years, as an indoor unit of an air conditioner, an indoor unit of a type in which a filter and a brush are relatively moved in contact with each other and dust attached to the filter is removed is widely used (see, for example, Patent Document 1). . In the device described in Patent Document 1, a brush is brought into contact with a filter at a predetermined pressure, and the filter is reciprocated by a motor. When the motor rotates, the drive gear directly connected to the motor and the output gear meshed with the drive gear rotate. The output gear meshes with a rack formed on the filter, and the filter moves as the output gear rotates.
JP 2006-194562 A

  However, the device described in Patent Document 1 requires guide means for smoothly guiding the filter in the moving direction in order for the filter to reciprocate accurately. However, Patent Document 1 discloses no such means. It has not been.

  Then, the subject of this invention is providing the indoor unit of the air conditioning apparatus which can move a filter smoothly.

  The indoor unit of the air conditioning apparatus according to the first invention includes an indoor heat exchanger, a fan, a filter, a roller, and a guide member. The indoor heat exchanger exchanges heat with the incoming air flow. The fan generates an air flow. The filter removes dust contained in the air flow. The roller moves the filter. The guide member is formed with a track for supporting the moving filter and guiding it in a predetermined direction. And the guide member is shape | molded by the metal mold | die, and it molds | releases by the pin which protrudes a guide member from a metal mold | die after a protrusion protruding a guide member avoiding on a track | orbit.

  In the guide member used in this indoor unit, when the guide member is released after being molded, it is avoided that the track is protruded on the track by the protruding pin. For this reason, there is no trace of a protruding pin on the track, and the filter can move smoothly on the track.

  The indoor unit of the air conditioner according to the second aspect of the present invention includes an indoor heat exchanger, a fan, a filter, a roller, and a guide member. The indoor heat exchanger exchanges heat with the incoming air flow. The fan generates an air flow. The filter removes dust contained in the air flow. The roller moves the filter. The guide member is formed with a track for supporting the moving filter and guiding it in a predetermined direction. The guide member is a resin part that is injection-molded with a mold, and is formed with the side of the guide member having the track as the cavity side of the mold and the side without the track as the core side of the mold.

  In the guide member used in this indoor unit, when the mold is opened after the guide member is molded, the side without the track remains on the core side of the mold, and the guide member is projected from the core side and released. For this reason, there is no protruding mark on the track on the cavity side of the mold, and the filter can smoothly move on the track.

  An air conditioner indoor unit according to a third aspect of the present invention is the air conditioner indoor unit according to the first or second aspect of the present invention, wherein the track is formed by a groove having a concave cross section, and the end of the filter is a groove. It moves while touching the inner bottom surface and the inner surface.

  In this indoor unit, since the end portion of the filter is supported by being surrounded by the groove, the filter can be moved without going off the track, and the operation reliability is increased.

  An indoor unit of an air conditioner according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the indoor unit of the air conditioner according to the third aspect of the present invention, wherein the roller has a pinion gear that sends out the filter in the direction of travel, and is in contact with the inner surface of the groove A rack that meshes with the pinion gear is formed at the end of the rack.

  In this indoor unit, the inner surface of the groove smoothly advances the tooth tip of the rack, so that the tooth tip of the rack is hard to wear and durability is increased.

  An air conditioner indoor unit according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the air conditioner indoor unit according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, wherein the depth dimension of the groove is equal to or greater than the tooth width dimension of the rack.

  In this indoor unit, even if the rack is deviated in the direction perpendicular to the moving direction, it does not protrude from the groove. For this reason, since the groove edge and the rack tooth tip do not interfere with each other, the rack tooth tip is not damaged, and the reliability is improved.

  An air conditioner indoor unit according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the air conditioner indoor unit according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, wherein the depth of the groove is 8 mm or more.

  In this indoor unit, even if the tooth width dimension of the rack that can withstand the maximum surface pressure acting on the tooth surface of the rack when the filter is moved by the pinion gear is set, the tooth width dimension is surely contained. For this reason, since the groove edge and the rack tooth tip do not interfere with each other, the rack tooth tip is not damaged, and the reliability is improved.

  In the indoor unit of the air conditioner according to the first and second inventions, there is no trace protruding from the mold on the track on which the filter moves, and the filter can move smoothly on the track. .

  In the indoor unit of the air conditioner according to the third aspect of the invention, since the end of the filter is supported by being surrounded by the groove, the filter can move without going off the track, and the operation reliability is improved.

  In the indoor unit of the air conditioner according to the fourth aspect of the invention, the inner surface of the groove smoothly advances the tooth tip of the rack, so that the tooth tip of the rack is hard to wear and durability is increased.

  In the indoor unit of the air conditioner according to the fifth and sixth aspects of the invention, the edge of the groove and the tooth tip of the rack do not interfere with each other, so that the tooth tip of the rack is not damaged and the reliability is improved.

<Schematic configuration of air conditioner>
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The following embodiments are specific examples of the present invention and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention.

  FIG. 1 is an external view of an air conditioner. In FIG. 1, an air conditioner 1 has an indoor unit 2 installed indoors and an outdoor unit 3 installed outdoor, and can perform indoor cooling and heating.

  The outdoor unit 3 includes an outdoor air conditioning unit 5 and a humidity control unit 4 disposed on the outdoor air conditioning unit 5. The humidity control unit 4 can supply outdoor air to the room or exhaust indoor air to the outside. Between the outdoor unit 3 and the indoor unit 2, the outdoor air from the humidity control unit 4 An air supply / exhaust hose 6 is provided for supplying humidity-controlled air or the like to the indoor unit 2 side or for discharging indoor air to the outside.

<Indoor unit>
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the indoor unit of the air-conditioning apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. The indoor unit 2 is a wall-mounted indoor unit that is attached to the wall surface of the room. As shown in FIG. 2, the indoor unit 2 includes a casing 10, a frame 11, an indoor heat exchanger 12, a fan 13, a filter 21, a dust box 60, and the like. is doing.

  The casing 10 includes a grill 10a, a front panel 10b, and a back plate 10c. The grill 10 a is disposed so as to cover the filter 21. The front panel 10b is attached so as to cover the front surface of the grill 10a. The grill 10a is provided with a display unit 77 (see FIG. 1) for displaying the operation status of the indoor unit 2. The display unit 77 is provided so as to be recognized from the front of the indoor unit 2. The display unit 77 is composed of a plurality of LEDs, and displays the operation status of the indoor unit 2 with or without lighting.

  Inside the indoor unit 2, a frame 11, an indoor heat exchanger 12, a fan 13, and a filter 21 are arranged. The indoor heat exchanger 12 and the fan 13 are attached to the frame 11. The indoor heat exchanger 12 exchanges heat with the passing air. The fan 13 blows the air taken in from the room against the indoor heat exchanger 12 and then blows it into the room.

  A blowout port 15 is provided in the lower front portion of the frame 11, and a horizontal flap 17 that guides air blown from the blowout port 15 is provided in the blowout port 15. The horizontal flap 17 can change the air guiding direction and can open and close the outlet 15.

  A filter 21 is disposed between the grill 10 a and the indoor heat exchanger 12, and dust contained in the air flowing toward the indoor heat exchanger 12 is removed. In this embodiment, in order to automatically clean the filter 21 to which dust has adhered, a roller 31 that moves the filter 21 and a guide member 41 that supports the filter 21 and the roller 31 are further provided. Hereinafter, members related to the filter cleaning function will be described with reference to the drawings.

<Related parts of filter cleaning function>
(Filter 21)
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the filter and its peripheral components. In FIG. 3, the filter 21 includes a filter portion 22 that removes dust in the air, and a support frame 23 that supports the upper and lower ends, the left and right ends, and the center portion of the filter portion 22. In the present embodiment, the support frame 23 is formed of an elastomer and is easily deformed by an external force, but is easily restored when the external force disappears. The material of the support frame 23 is not limited to elastomer, but is selected from polymer materials such as rubber and resin. A rack 24 that meshes with a pinion gear 32 to be described later is formed on the support frames 23 at the left and right ends of the filter 21.

  The filter 21 is disposed on the front side of the indoor heat exchanger 12 and removes dust from the air taken in from the room and outdoors. Thereby, the filter 21 prevents dust floating in the air from contaminating the surface of the indoor heat exchanger 12. The filter 21 is disposed so as to cover almost the entire region on the front side of the indoor heat exchanger 12 in a normal state.

(Roller 31)
The roller 31 has pinion gears 32 at both ends. Each pinion gear 32 meshes with the rack 24 of the filter 21, and the filter 21 moves up and down as the pinion gear 32 rotates.

  At the center of each pinion gear 32, a rotating shaft 33 protruding outward is provided, and the rotating shaft 33 is supported by a bearing 43 of a guide member 41 described later. In order to reduce the frictional resistance between the rotating shaft 33 and the bearing 43, the auxiliary shaft 34 is attached to the rotating shaft 33 before the rotating shaft 33 is inserted into the bearing 43.

  The auxiliary shaft 36 of the transmission gear 35 is attached to the rotary shaft 33 on the opposite side of the rotary shaft 33 to which the auxiliary shaft 34 is attached. The transmission gear 35 is a gear that transmits rotation from the drive source to the roller 31, and the auxiliary shaft 36 is coaxially and integrally formed. When attaching the auxiliary shaft 36 to the rotating shaft 33, the operator inserts the rotating shaft 33 into the bearing 43 of the guide member 41, and then rotates the rotating shaft in the bearing 43 from the direction opposite to the side where the rotating shaft 33 is inserted. While looking at 33, the auxiliary shaft 36 is fitted to the rotary shaft 33.

  In the present embodiment, the auxiliary shaft 34 and the transmission gear 35 are formed of polyacetal resin having self-lubricating properties and a low friction coefficient. The material is not limited to polyacetal resin, but is selected from resins having a self-lubricating property and a low friction coefficient such as polyamide resin and polybutylene terephthalate resin.

(Guide member 41)
FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the guide member viewed from one side surface. In FIG. 4, the guide member 41 includes a guide groove 42 serving as a track for the filter 21 to move, and a bearing 43 that supports the rotation shaft 33 of the pinion gear 32.

  The guide groove 42 includes a front guide groove 42a, a lower guide groove 42b, a rear guide groove 42c, and an upper guide groove 42d. The lengths of the front guide groove 42a and the rear guide groove 42c correspond to about three-quarters of the length in the longitudinal direction of the filter 21, and the length of the upper guide groove 42d is about four minutes in the longitudinal direction of the filter 21. This corresponds to a length of 1. The lower guide groove 42b forms an arc track coaxial with the tip circle of the pinion gear 32 described above, and connects the lower end of the front guide groove 42a and the lower end of the rear guide groove 42c. Both the upper end of the front guide groove 42a and the upper end of the rear guide groove 42c are connected to the inlet of the upper guide groove 42d.

(Position detection means 50)
The filter 21 moves along the guide groove 42 described above and stops at a predetermined position. The stop position of the filter 21 is detected by the position detector 50. In FIG. 2, the position detecting means 50 is disposed in the vicinity of the terminal end of the upper guide groove 42d. The position detection unit 50 includes a limit switch 51, a lever 52, and a rotation member 53. The limit switch 51 opens and closes an internal contact by moving a button. The lever 52 is hinged on the outside of the limit switch 51, and rotates to push the button of the limit switch 51 when an external force is applied. The rotating member 53 rotates by contacting the corner of the filter 21 and pushes the lever 52.

(Dust box 60)
The dust box 60 has a function of removing dust adhering to the filter 21 and temporarily storing the dust. The dust box 60 is attached to the upper position of the outlet 15 of the casing 10. The dust box 60 can be attached and detached without interfering with the front panel 10b even when the front panel 10b is closed. The dust box 60 is provided with a rotating brush 61, and the rotating brush 61 is in contact with the filter 21. The rotating brush 61 is rotationally driven by a brush drive motor (not shown).

<Filter cleaning operation>
In the indoor unit 2, the filter 21 is automatically cleaned by the control unit regularly or by a remote controller when required by the user. The mechanism will be described below.

  In FIG. 2, the rack 24 of the filter 21 is housed in a front guide groove 42 a and an upper guide groove 42 d, and one end of the rack 24 (hereinafter referred to as the first end portion 24 a) meshes with the pinion gear 32. When the roller 31 rotates, the rotation is transmitted from the pinion gear 32 to the rack 24, and the filter 21 is turned by the roller 31 in the lower guide groove 42b and is conveyed to the rear guide groove 42c side. As the roller 31 continues to rotate, the first end 24a of the rack 24 enters the upper guide groove 42d and reaches the end of the upper guide groove 42d.

  When the first end 24a of the rack 24 reaches the end of the upper guide groove 42d, the first end 24a pushes and rotates the rotating member 53 of the position detecting means 50. The rotation of the rotating member 53 is transmitted to the lever 52, and the button of the limit switch 51 is pushed by the lever 52 to turn on. The controller of the air conditioner determines that the first end 24a of the rack 24 has reached the end of the upper guide groove 42d from the ON signal output from the limit switch 51, and stops the rotation of the roller 31. At this time, the rack 24 is accommodated in the rear guide groove 42c and the upper guide groove 42d, and the other end of the rack 24 (hereinafter referred to as the second end portion 24b) is engaged with the pinion gear 32.

  When the filter 21 moves, the dust adhering to the surface of the filter 21 is scraped off by the rotating brush 61. The rotating brush 61 rotates at least during a period in which the filter 21 is moving from the front to the rear, and the rotation direction is a direction opposite to the traveling direction of the filter 21.

  When the filter 21 moves from the front to the rear and the removal of dust is completed, the control unit rotates the roller 31 in the reverse direction. Since the second end 24b of the rack 24 of the filter 21 meshes with the pinion gear 32, rotation is transmitted from the pinion gear 32 to the rack 24, and the direction of the filter 21 is changed by the roller 31 in the lower guide groove 42b. It is conveyed to the front guide groove 42a side. When the roller 31 continues to rotate backward, the second end 24b of the rack 24 enters the upper guide groove 42d and reaches the end of the upper guide groove 42d.

  When the second end 24b of the rack 24 reaches the end of the upper guide groove 42d, the second end 24b pushes and rotates the rotating member 53 of the position detecting means 50. The rotation of the rotating member 53 is transmitted to the lever 52, and the button of the limit switch 51 is pressed by the lever 52 to turn on. The controller of the air conditioner determines that the second end 24b of the rack 24 has reached the end of the upper guide groove 42d from the ON signal output from the limit switch 51, and stops the rotation of the roller 31.

<Guide member forming method>
The guide member 41 is provided with a plurality of walls in order to form the guide groove 42. For example, in FIG. 4, the front guide groove 42a is a wall 44 and a wall 45, the lower guide groove 42b is a bearing 43 and a wall 46, the rear guide groove 42c is a wall 47 and a wall 48, and the upper guide groove 42d is a wall. 44 and a wall 49. These walls 44 to 49 are set to a depth of 8 mm or more in order to reliably support the rack 24 of the filter 21.

  FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the guide member shown in FIG. 4 as viewed from the B surface side. As shown in FIG. 5, there is almost no wall on the B surface side because there is no need to form the guide groove 42. . The guide member 41 is injection-molded by a molding die. However, since the A surface side with the guide groove 42 is likely to remain in the die, in general, the A surface side is the core side of the molding die and the B surface side is the molding die. The cavity side of the mold.

  However, when the A-side is used as the core, the guide member 41 remaining on the core after the injection molding needs to be ejected with a projecting pin. When projecting, the bottom surface of the guide groove 42 and the end surfaces of the walls 44 to 49 are projected. The trace of the protruding pin remains as a step, and obstructs the smooth movement of the filter 21.

  Therefore, the guide member 41 of the present embodiment is formed with the A surface side having the guide groove 42 as the cavity side and the B surface side as the core side. And after injection molding, since the B surface side remains in the molding die and the B surface side is protruded by the protruding pin, there is no step by the protruding pin on the A surface side.

  Therefore, the bottom surface of the guide groove 42 and the walls 44 to 49 are ensured to have a smooth surface without a step, and the movement of the filter is not hindered.

<Other embodiments>
In the above embodiment, the guide member 41 is provided with the guide groove 42 in which the filter 21 moves. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the guide member 41 may be provided with a convex track, and the end of the filter 21 may be provided with a concave groove into which the convex track is fitted.

<Features>
(1)
In the indoor unit 2, a guide groove 42 for guiding the filter 21 in a predetermined direction is formed in the guide member 41 that supports the end of the filter 21. The guide member 41 is formed with the guide groove 42 side as the cavity side of the mold, and protrudes from the side without the guide groove 42 to be released. For this reason, there is no protruding mark on the inner surface of the guide groove 42, and the end of the filter 21 can move smoothly on the inner surface of the guide groove 42.

(2)
In the indoor unit 2, since the end portion of the filter 21 is supported by being surrounded by the guide groove 42, the filter 21 can move without going off the track, and the operation reliability is improved.

(3)
In the indoor unit 2, a rack 24 that meshes with a pinion gear 32 that feeds the filter 21 in the traveling direction is formed at the end of the filter 21. Since the guide groove 42 smoothly advances the tooth tip of the rack 24, the tooth tip of the rack is hard to be worn and durability is high.

(4)
In the indoor unit 2, the depth dimension of the guide groove is 8 mm or more, and the tooth width dimension of the rack 24 is surely accommodated. For this reason, since the groove edge and the rack tooth tip do not interfere with each other, the tooth tip of the rack 24 is not damaged, and the reliability is improved.

  As described above, according to the present invention, since the filter can smoothly move on a predetermined track, it is useful for an indoor unit of an air conditioner having a filter moving type filter cleaning function.

The external view of an air conditioning apparatus. Sectional drawing of the indoor unit of the air conditioning apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The disassembled perspective view of a filter and its peripheral components. The expansion perspective view which looked at the guide member from one side. The perspective view seen from the B surface side of the guide member shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Air conditioning apparatus 2 Indoor unit 12 Indoor heat exchanger 13 Fan 21 Filter 24 Rack 31 Roller 32 Pinion gear 41 Guide member 42 Guide groove

Claims (6)

An indoor heat exchanger (12) for exchanging heat with the incoming air stream;
A fan (13) for generating the air flow;
A filter (21) for removing dust contained in the air flow;
A roller (31) for moving the filter;
A guide member (41) formed with a track for supporting the moving filter (21) and guiding it in a predetermined direction;
With
The guide member (41) is molded by a mold, and a mold that projects the guide member (41) from the mold after molding is released by projecting the guide member (41) avoiding the track. Yes,
Indoor unit (2) of air conditioner (1). An indoor heat exchanger (12) for exchanging heat with the incoming air stream;
A fan (13) for generating the air flow;
A filter (21) for removing dust contained in the air flow;
A roller (31) for moving the filter;
A guide member (41) formed with a track for supporting the moving filter (21) and guiding it in a predetermined direction;
With
The guide member (41) is a resin component that is injection-molded with a mold, and the side of the guide member (41) where the track is present is the cavity side of the mold and the side where the track is not present is the mold. Molded as the core side of the
Indoor unit (2) of air conditioner (1). The track is formed by a groove (42) having a concave cross section;
The end of the filter (21) moves while contacting the inner bottom surface and the inner surface of the groove (42).
The indoor unit (2) of the air conditioning apparatus (1) according to claim 1 or 2. The roller (31) has a pinion gear (32) that sends out the filter (21) in the traveling direction,
A rack (24) that meshes with the pinion gear (32) is formed at an end of the filter (21) that contacts the inner surface of the groove (42).
The indoor unit (2) of the air conditioning apparatus (1) according to claim 3. The depth dimension of the groove (42) is not less than the tooth width dimension of the rack (24).
The indoor unit (2) of the air conditioning apparatus (1) according to claim 4. The depth dimension of the groove (42) is 8 mm or more,
The indoor unit (2) of the air conditioning apparatus (1) according to claim 4.

Images